One week in London

Ever since Daniel and I returned from our first trip to the UK in 2015, we’ve wanted to return. Various factors led to us putting off a return trip, but it wasn’t until last week that I was able to make it happen. Unfortunately, Dan was not able to join me, so this was a solo trip from Wednesday March 15 to Wednesday March 22.

As British Airways now offers a nonstop between Pittsburgh and London, that was my departing airport -well worth the two-hour drive from home to avoid a layover. I’ve had a fear of being late since my school days - which occasionally surfaces in my dreams. So, I arrived at Pittsburgh International Airport well in advance of the “three hours before departure” recommendation. But I didn’t have to wait long for the BA desk to open and get me checked in. From there it was a quick trip through security and onto the train that whisked me to the air terminal. PIT has four concourses shaped like a giant X with restaurants and shops where the concourses meet. I was pleased to see a Bar Symon so I dropped in for a drink and snack. I was still very early but a lengthy FaceTime chat with a dear friend helped me pass the time. Soon enough I boarded the Boeing 787-9 and took my seat in World Traveler Plus. The overnight flight itself was rather uneventful.

Surprisingly there were no available air bridges available when we landed at London Heathrow Airport, so we disembarked via air stairs onto a bus that took us to border control, which has changed since we were last there in 2015. Now it’s largely automated and I was quickly through and on my way to baggage reclaim, and from there to the underground station to take me to Soho via the Piccadilly line. I recommend all visitors to London download the Transport for London app and get an Oyster card.

When planning this trip, I selected Hotel Indigo in Leicester Square and I couldn’t have been happier with that choice. Sofia and Cindy at the front desk not only checked me in early (before noon) at no extra cost, they gave me two drink vouchers for the rooftop bar/restaurant and provided me with an umbrella for use while walking the streets of London.

Leicester Square from Hotel Indigo's restaurant

I took it easy that first day there. My sole tourist destination was the London Transport Museum in Covent Garden. Truly London’s public transport network is a model to be followed - efficient, clean, cost effective, and as safe as possible given the multitudes who use it. Given London’s high population density and the organic way the city evolved, it’s also necessary. The US has nothing on this level - only New York’s relatively dirty and dangerous system comes close. The London Transport Museum shows how London went from horse drawn carriages to early rail, to double decker buses and more modern options. It’s appropriate for all ages.

An old-school fashionably appointed train.

Friday was the busiest day. It started with a walk to Buckingham Palace for the Changing of the Guard - which was unfortunately canceled at the last moment due to the weather. Then I headed back to Soho to try fish & chips at Poppie’s. Despite the hip 1960s vibe of the place, I found the food itself disappointing: the fish batter was soggy and the fries devoid of flavor. Arthur Treacher’s in Ohio wins by a country mile - and they offer Hush Puppies. Then I hopped the tube to the London Bridge station to see the replica of Sir Francis Drake’s Golden Hinde. I remember as a child I helped my father build a model of this ship - meaning my dad built it and I watched. The British Drake apparently had no children, although he had several collateral descendants. I’ve no idea if we’re related but my family has a history of service in the Military. Although Drake is an important figure in navigational, seafaring, and world history, we must face up to the fact that his record is not untarnished. He engaged in the trade of human beings. But he also circumnavigated the Earth in an incredibly small ship, an act of daring which cannot be ignored.

Interior of the Golden Hinde

I considered this as I walked the South Bank of the Thames past the replica of Shakespeare’s Globe theatre and Royal Festival Hall (infamous for its mediocre acoustics). By now I was back in Westminster and couldn’t resist watching Big Ben strike three, followed by a walk through the statue garden outside the Houses of Parliament and past the Royal Horseguards. In all I walked over ten miles that day.

An obligatory selfie

When Dan & I went to London in 2015, some family members were disappointed we didn’t visit Abbey Road’s famous crosswalk. Saturday, I hopped bus route 139 and was there in less than half an hour. Honestly, it’s not all that and a bag of crisps but I did the obligatory walk, then hopped the return bus. After Friday’s long walk, I decided to take it easy. I stopped at a cinema and saw the new Shazam film, then headed St. Pancras for a quick walk to the Queer Britain Museum at Granary Square. Then a bit of bar hopping for some interesting conversations with nice people. It was here I realized many Brits have misconceptions about life in America that that they are often as ignorant of our geography as we are of theirs. Many had no idea where Ohio is and thought the entire US had undrinkable water. I gently explained that that truth was more nuanced but didn’t make a big deal of things.

On Sunday I returned to Buckingham Palace for the Changing of the Guard. Quite an impressive display. Unfortunately, by the end of the day I felt a cold coming on. By Monday I felt terrible. Although I did several miles of walking, I had to abandon plans to see George Takei’s Allegiance at Charing Cross Theatre out of consideration to fellow audience members.

By Tuesday I felt well enough to hop the route 24 bus and head to Hampstead Heath, where I walked over five miles while staying at a safe distance from other people. The rest of the day I took it easy, seeing 65 (weak execution of an interesting concept); then it was dinner and drinks at the hotel restaurant.

Wednesday I checked out and headed back to Heathrow for my return flight home. Despite negative publicity last year about operations there, my experience at Heathrow was orderly and pleasant, despite the fact that my flight’s departure gate was not announced until less than an hour before boarding.  I was home before midnight local time.  While I’d enjoyed the trip, it lacked the spark that comes with experiencing new places with a loved one, and I resolved never to travel alone again unless it was to see family/friends or for business.

Farrenc, Ravel, and Mussorgsky at Severance

 

Severance Hall last night

The Cleveland Orchestra continued its practice of commingling the familiar with the unfamiliar in this weekend’s program featuring music director Franz Welser-Möst and guest pianist Víkingur Ólafsson.

The opening work was the Symphony No. 3 in G minor by French composer Louise Farrenc, completed in 1847 receiving its Cleveland Orchestra debut.  The work has seldom been performed since its premiere 1849.  The program notes unequivocally pins the reason for this work’s neglect on “the systemic sexism and misogyny long upheld by the classical music establishment.”  That may well be part of the reason.  Another cause may be the Symphony’s highly conservative, one might even say old-fashioned construction.  One could easily pass this off as an undiscovered early symphony by Mendelssohn, and there were passages that reminded me of that composer’s incidental music to A Midsummer Night’s Dream.  The orchestration and architecture of the piece were excellent, but there was nothing in the way of innovation.  Thus, it was interesting to hear, but only once.  

After a quick stage change, orchestra and conductor were joined by Ólafsson for Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G major.  This concert marked the first time I’d heard this pianist in the flesh, and it was a fine experience.  Ólafsson brought exceptionally free metrics in the first movement, yet the structure of the work emerged clearly, along with the jazz influences brought to the fore by Welser-Möst.  In the second movement the soloist was exceptionally attentive to inner voices and phrased the ¾ melody with a soulfulness seldom heard by all too many pianists who simply plunk it out.  The finale was not merely thrilling, but coherent from a structural perspective.  Ólafsson’s seemingly effortless technique, including perfect use of the pedals, was matched with solid musicality.  Of the 15 or so live and recorded performances I’ve heard of this concerto, this ranked very near the top.  The audience gave the pianist a standing ovation and he gave a lovely encore: the Bach-Siloti Prelude in B minor, in a poetic rendition with sensitive control of the lower dynamic levels. 

Ólafsson following the performance

Following intermission Welser-Möst returned to lead the orchestra in Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition.  As is well known, Pictures was originally written (rather clumsily) for piano solo in tribute to the composer’s friend, painter and architect Viktor Hartmann.  There have been several orchestrations, with Ravel’s being the most popular.  Personally, I’ve always found Ravel’s approach insufficiently Russian, and I prefer Stokowski’s and Ashkenazy’s orchestrations.  But the problem here was not the orchestration, nor the technical quality of the playing, but the conception.  Despite a fine opening Trumpet solo from Michael Sachs, Welser-Möst’s rushed, metronomic, colorless approach left this repertoire staple wanting.  Passages which benefit from a bit of freedom were rhythmically straightjacketed, phrasing was flat throughout.  It was as if poor Mussorgsky was being rushed from picture to picture at his own exhibition.  I was far from the only listener to feel this way, and several boos were clearly audible afterward – the first time I’ve ever heard them at a Cleveland Orchestra concert.  Welser-Möst can be a convincing interpreter in the right repertoire – this wasn’t an example of that.